Business & Technology
UK sets out Bill to speed AI regulation & sandboxes
KAREN JOY BACUDO
Finance Editor
The UK government has set out a new Regulating for Growth Bill as part of the legislative agenda in the latest King’s Speech.
The Bill aims to reshape how regulators oversee fast-moving sectors, including artificial intelligence and other digital technologies. Ministers have presented it as a response to concerns that existing rules and agencies are not adapting quickly enough to innovation.
Under the plans, departments would gain new powers to revise or repeal regulations deemed outdated or burdensome. The package would also expand the use of regulatory sandboxes, allowing companies and public bodies to test new products and services under supervision.
Legal and technology sector figures broadly welcomed the proposals, while warning that wider economic reforms must match them. Commentators pointed to pressures on smaller firms, as well as the need for strong data governance and international coordination on AI.
Edward Garston, a partner at Spencer West, said the Bill could improve the UK’s appeal to high-growth technology ventures.
“It was encouraging to hear the announcement of the ‘Regulating for Growth Bill’, which seeks to streamline and update the regulatory environment. Even the government admits our regulatory environment has failed to keep pace with a world of accelerating change, and if this Bill is successfully adopted, then it could enhance the UK’s standing on the world stage in attracting AI and other emerging technology startups.”
He also warned that broader economic pressures continue to weigh heavily on SMEs across the UK economy.
“But this initiative alone is unlikely to be the shot of adrenaline that SME businesses so desperately need, as they battle the many headwinds of increased employment costs and employment rights, business rates, and some of the highest industrial energy costs across the developed world,” said Garston.
Technology executives focused on the role of regulatory sandboxes in the government’s plans, arguing that controlled testing environments could help speed the move of AI systems from pilots into mainstream use.
“Businesses will welcome the Regulating for Growth Bill and its recognition that regulation must evolve alongside technological innovation. The right regulatory framework can protect consumers and give organisations the confidence to innovate, invest and scale emerging technologies such as AI. Regulatory sandboxes have the potential to become one of the UK’s most important tools for turning AI ambition into economic impact,” said Greg Hanson, Group Vice President and Head of EMEA North at Informatica.
Hanson said regulatory sandbox environments could help businesses and public services accelerate AI innovation by enabling real-world experimentation, but stressed that organisations also need trusted, high-quality data to scale AI systems beyond the testing phase confidently.
“Giving businesses and public services sandbox environments to test and experiment with AI in real-world conditions will help drive innovation. However, organisations can only test and scale AI confidently if they have trusted context around the data feeding their AI systems.”
“That means understanding where data has come from, how it’s connected, if it’s complete, and whether it can be trusted. Without that, they lose confidence in AI outputs, leaving organisations stuck in experimentation rather than delivering real value at scale,” said Hanson.
Harshul Asani, President and Head of UK and Europe at Tech Mahindra, said the debate around AI regulation was shifting.
“The conversation around AI is now moving away from ambition to accountability. The Regulating for Growth Bill reinforces the importance of creating the right frameworks to support that shift.”
Asani said the UK’s proposed regulatory reforms could help accelerate AI adoption by creating more flexible environments for experimentation while still maintaining safeguards around trust, accountability and oversight.
“Measures such as regulatory sandboxes are an important step. The ability to innovate faster while maintaining public trust is especially important for the public sector, and striking the right balance between innovation and assurance will be critical if the UK is to realise AI’s long-term economic and societal value.”
“But effective AI governance cannot happen in isolation. AI is a global technology; its long-term success will depend on the UK’s ability to collaborate across borders, industry and regulators to establish standards, shared safeguards and consistent oversight. That collective approach will be essential to turning AI’s potential into meaningful, sustainable impact.”
Industry leaders said the UK’s proposed regulatory reforms could help accelerate AI adoption by creating more flexible environments for experimentation while still maintaining safeguards around trust, accountability and oversight.
“Measures such as regulatory sandboxes are an important step. The ability to innovate faster while maintaining public trust is especially important for the public sector, and striking the right balance between innovation and assurance will be critical if the UK is to realise AI’s long-term economic and societal value.
“But effective AI governance cannot happen in isolation. AI is a global technology; its long-term success will depend on the UK’s ability to collaborate across borders, industry and regulators to establish standards, shared safeguards and consistent oversight. That collective approach will be essential to turning AI’s potential into meaningful, sustainable impact.”
The comments reflect broader industry calls for internationally aligned AI governance frameworks as governments and regulators race to support innovation without weakening transparency, consumer protections or operational resilience.
Ten Seconds Yunnan Rice Noodle in New Inn Hall Street was inspected by Oxford City Council on May 26.
Inspectors subsequently handed the Chinese restaurant a rating of two out of five, meaning “improvement necessary”.
According to the report, received by the Oxford Mail after a Freedom of Information request submission, officers identified a series of concerns, including evidence of mouse activity.
The report states that mouse droppings were found throughout the business in two food storage rooms and the bar area.
In one of the storage areas, mouse activity was present where noodles were kept in plastic carrier bags and potatoes and onion were left in the open.
Inspectors said pest-proofing measures were “not great” and identified a hole beneath a sink in the bar area which could potentially allow pests to enter the premises.
In the report, the inspector said: “At the time of the inspection, I observed a number of historic mouse dropping in both the food storage areas.
“The most recent pest control report mentions no mouse activity in any of the food storage areas.
“All areas where food is prepared and stored must be kept clean and capable of being kept clean. This is so that pests are not attracted into your premises and the risk of food being contaminated by dirt is minimised.”
They advised the owner to remove all historic mouse droppings within the food business and continue to identify any issues of pest proofing within a month.
The business was instructed to remove the droppings and improve pest-proofing measures where previous temporary work had failed.
Food storage issues were also highlighted during the inspection.
In an “overfilled” fridge, officers found raw chicken stored above ready-to-eat foods, including uncovered beans and spring onions, which could cause cross-contamination leading to food poisoning.
That same fridge, which stored items such as cooked rice, chicken ballotine and prawns, was above the required eight degrees, raising concern about food poisoning.
A large number of food containers were also unlabelled, despite the food looking fresh.
The officer insisted a “robust system for ensuring adequate stock rotation” was implemented and recommended all food be kept in sealed, pest-proof containers.
No food-safe sanitiser or disinfectant were available on site, only a kitchen cleaner which they said did not provide adequate disinfection.
Despite the concerns, the report noted there had been a “huge improvement” in cleaning standards since the restaurant’s previous inspection.
The business also had a food safety management system in place and a pest control contract with Pure Pest Solutions.
The council has required a range of improvements, with compliance timescales ranging from one week to one month with a revisit inspection planned.
Oxford-based Peripear has secured an Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award and a £74,974 grant for its development of a wearable device designed to prevent perineal trauma during labour.
The funding will support continued product development ahead of the company’s planned first-in-human study.
Nina van Schaick, co-founder and COO of Peripear as well as a midwife who trained at Oxford Brookes, said: “I’m sure I wasn’t the only one to see this gap.
“I was incredibly lucky to meet my co-founder, Eviatar Natan, right as my frustration about the lack of translation of evidence into practice had peaked.
“There was a proven mechanism that could reduce injuries occurring in up to 90 per cent of vaginal births, and it was being left out of clinical pathways simply because no standardised tool existed to deliver it.”
Peripear is developing what it describes as the world’s first automated perineal thermotherapy wearable, designed to prevent perineal trauma during childbirth.
A perineal thermotherapy wearable is an emerging medical device.
It is a hands‑free warm compress device used on the perineum during the second stage of labour to reduce severe tearing and episiotomies while improving maternal comfort.
Ms van Schaick added: “I’m a farmer’s granddaughter, and when I started practising over 14 years ago, I asked: where is the tool I need to implement this evidence? I looked around and realised we were still asking clinicians to improvise.
“Peripear is what happens when the person who has lived the problem, both personally and professionally, meets the person who can help her build the solution.”
The company behind bikemaker Raleigh, which was founded 139 years ago and has supplied bikes to the UK’s cycling city of Oxford over the years, has filed to appoint administrators.
Accell UK and Ireland, part of Netherlands-based Accell Group, filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators as the wider group kickstarted insolvency proceedings.
This follows a difficult spell for Nottinghamshire-based Raleigh, which confirmed job cuts in 2024 before reporting a £30m loss in financial accounts published the following year.
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The boss of Accell said it was a “deeply sad and frustrating situation” and that it had “tirelessly explored” every option for the future of the cycling business.
The company bought Raleigh in 2012 for around 100 million US dollars (£74 million), adding to its roster of bike brands throughout Europe including Haibike, Winora and Ghost.
Raleigh was founded in Nottingham in 1887 and was well-known for its Chopper model, which featured extended handlebars and is now part of its “retro” range.
It no longer manufactures bikes from Nottingham, and its head office has moved to Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, while the company has shifted to selling electric bikes under Accell’s ownership.
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Accell went through a restructuring in February, securing additional funding from shareholders and lenders and reducing debts.
The group said it had since “explored every possible avenue” for its future, including discussions with potential buyers, but that it had not been possible to find a solution which means the business can continue operating.
It has therefore initiated insolvency proceedings in the Netherlands.
Accell’s chief executive Jonas Nilsson said: “This is a deeply sad and frustrating situation given all the hard work and everything we have achieved, with the support of shareholders and lenders, to restructure Accell’s operations and finances.
“It is an especially difficult moment for our employees, creditors, customers, suppliers, and partners.
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“Every realistic option for the future of the business has been tirelessly explored, and none have resulted in a solution to continue the Group in its current form.
“Our immediate focus is to support an orderly process, provide clarity wherever possible, and work with the relevant court-appointed administrators to preserve viable activities and employment where circumstances allow.”
At its 1970s height, Raleigh employed more than 13,000 people across the UK, with around 8,000 working at its various Triumph Road sites in Nottingham.
The former factory land later became the University of Nottingham’s Jubilee Campus.
Raleigh subsequently moved its headquarters to Church Street in Eastwood, before leaving that site and relocating to Durban House in 2024.
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